It’s been a long time since I last posted on the website, but I have been a bit busy around. Recently, my residency visa was expiring and had to be renewed. My previous experience was really good as I went at 01:00 a.m. and the Government Hospital in Satwa was open. It took me less than 7 minutes to get over with it, and without any hassles. Keeping this in mind, I went at 11:00 p.m. on ‘Day 1′ and found out that the timings have been changed to 08:00 a.m. – 01:00 p.m. and 04:00p.m. – 07:30 p.m. Well, a big disappointment and I know usually during that working shift it takes approximately 3-5 hours to get the blood test done. So I tried to find out more about the 24 hr Blood Test hospitals. There is one in Sonapur in the Labor Camp. Assuming that it would be faster there and at mid night not many people would be going there. I headed out for it on ‘Day 2′ at 10:30 p.m. I tried to ‘find’ the place and that itself took me 1.5 hours because it is somewhere in the in skirts of Sonapur. And the person at the gate of the Satwa hospital told me it was next to Lulu Village. But whatever said and done, after asking a minimum of 6 people, following a guy on the cycle, and with the GPS I found the place. To my surprise when I move in, I find that there were more than 350 people waiting inside, which included families, couples, bachelors and laborers. When I asked one of the staff inside, he told me till my turn comes it could be 05:00 a.m. and when I looked at my watch the current time was 12:00 a.m. WOW, 5 hours minimum and waiting in that room would actually kill me. So I headed back home disappointed. It was ‘Day 3′ and I had to get it done a.s.a.p, so I just made up my mind and headed back to Satwa, and to my surprise I found out the timings have become 07:00 a.m. – 07:30p.m. When I entered I saw not less than 150 people inside, suffocating and breathing air exhaled by the person sitting next to them with their faces so low that they were touching the ground. I went to the token machine and I took up the token to get the blood test done. My number was 19, I was happy, that only 18 people before me, and this way I don’t have to wait for long. But then when I did see around me, I realized I am not in a park, so why are these people sitting here. Then, I started asking people next to me, and all they could say is go to the ‘Security Guard’. The Security Guards out there are like the wardens in the Jail. When I approached the Security Guard, he didn’t bother with listening to me, he got annoyed that I used the token machine. Usually, the security guards are annoyed because we don’t use the machines and we start standing in a queue. But here the situation was different. He gave me a number which was 384 roughly as I remember. He did not explain what the number was meant to be and when my turn will come. The monitors for the token numbers were switched on, but weren’t being used. So I took my papers, and sat after finding a chair somewhere which was quite tough. After asking a few people around me, I realized that they also know that they have been given a number and asked to be seated. The guy sitting next to me, his number was 318 and his turn hadn’t come as yet. So I thought I will go and ask the ‘Security Guard’ aka Warden for the current number being serviced. And he told me, the current number is 351. Surprisingly, I told him the guy sitting over there is 318 and his number has not been called, so as a reply he takes my paper, changes my number to 400 and tells me to either go and wait more, or get out of the country. I am not exaggerating or adding any extra information, these were his words. So with the number being extended, I went and sat. There was a person sitting next to me, who made an online payment to make the process easier, and he got a number of 421. He had to wait because the paper printed online did not have the stamp of the hospital. So basically it did not make any sense of making an online payment as it was the same process. It took 2.5 hours till my number was called. And a series of 10 numbers were called. So 390-400 were called together and made to stand in a line in front of the window where we make the payment. Since the room was filled, the line was not straight. The Security Guard aka Warden got annoyed, and yelled at everyone threatening them to make the line straight. After the payment was made, everyone was seated again, and had to wait till their name was called out to give blood. That took another 1 hour. So a total of 3.5 hours it takes for a person to give blood for the blood test to live in Dubai if he does not have ‘Wasta’ or is ready to pay huge amount of money. There are actually brokers sitting outside the Hospital who charge fees of AED 100 – AED 250 to get the test done in lesser amount of time. Because of these brokers, the ones taking tokens are delayed. And the doctors inside are not even bothered for the people sitting outside.
To conclude, every resident in Dubai pays a minimum amount of AED 260 for the blood test of the visa renewal. The current population of Dubai would be around 7.5 million according to The National Human Resources Development and Employment Authority (Tanmia) (Link). If we do the math, Dubai gets a huge amount of AED 1.95 billion a year or three years depending on the type of visa from just the residents. To support such a large population, why did they have to close down on the 24 hour service for the Hospitals, when they had to introduce the law of only Government Hospitals can do the blood test? If every person loses out on 3.5 hours of their time for just doing their blood test, and the amount of frustration caused, would reduce the productivity of Dubai. Moreover, it is against humanity to behave in such a way. There is no difference between the prison and the hospital whereas one is supposed to punish the criminals and the other is to provide official residency. Also, when Dubai claims that they want to make everything available on the Internet, and make it an e Enabled city with all facilities available at the click of the button, why are they not following it. The token machine is actually not even used. The only reason I thought of writing this is because I wanted to bring out the point that before making any claims, Dubai should try and utilize the current facilities they have. Moreover, the system should be used and people working at the Government Hospital should be kind in nature and not treat the people as animals. They are working in the hospital and not the prison.

In the year 2003, it was announced that Dubai will be constructing the tallest tower in the world. The construction began on 21st September 2004 with a flagship project known as Downtown Burj Dubai and the tallest tower known as ‘Burj Dubai’. Initially, it was the construction sector boom, and therefore, the area around the tower became the most expensive property on the planet with prices ranging from US $3,000 to $4,000 per sq. ft. The Armani Residences also were a part of the tower. Living in Dubai, everyone noticed the tower building up every day and a lot of media attention was grabbed by that area. For example, one of the largest malls in UAE known as Dubai Mall was constructed in the area. Also, the construction laborers were exploited, and a lot more news was in the papers related to how they were under paid, their working conditions and living conditions were bad, how their working hours were 16 hours in a day, etc and also a few of these issues can be seen in the other blog posts. It also has the best fountain display which is even better than Bellagio in Las Vegas. The cost of the fountain is US $217 million during the time when the crisis was at the peak. The several delays in the opening of the tower also created a lot of panic. Initially it was planned to open in September 2009 but was revised to 2nd December 2009 which is the UAE National Day. But again was postponed to 4th January 2010. The day was chosen because it marked the Celebration of 4th anniversary of Sheikh Mohammad’s accession. Finally, the tower was inaugurated on 4th January 2010, and it was done with a Bang! If an opening needs to be grand, it should be learnt from a few openings seen in Dubai that is the Atlantis and Burj Khalifa. Over 10,000 fireworks, 868 stroboscope lights lighting up Burj Dubai with complete synchronization of sound, light, music, and water were used for the opening with 6,000 people being invited and billions around the world watching it on TV. Over 50 different sequences were created with different combinations of all the elements for the opening. The entire sky in Dubai was lit up and people from a distance of 5 kilometers could see the fireworks clearly. But before the starting of the event, it was announced that the tower will be known as ‘Burj Khalifa’ and not ‘Burj Dubai’. The reason was not given out immediately but many people were surprised by the announcement. The official reason given was to honor the president of UAE. Many news sites had given reasons like the reason could be the ‘US $10 Billion’ given to Dubai by Abu Dhabi to bail out the debts of Dubai World. Nobody knows the real reason, but for sure, it must be a big one, to change the tower marking the day in the history of Dubai and the World on the day of inauguration.
According to i-Dubai, it sure is a Bummer to change the name, but at the end of the day the tower is going to be in Dubai, and therefore, people visiting the tallest tower in the world will have to come to Dubai to visit it. Also, the ruler of UAE must be honored with something grand as when Dubai was in need of help, it did not think twice before lending out a helping hand. After all, ‘a friend in need is a friend in deed’. Therefore, there could be several reasons for the change of name, but that should not be the major issue at this point of time. And also, news channels and news papers discussing the towering debt of Dubai at the time of opening was wrong as it is an important day for Dubai, and even for other countries as this tower has been build with strength, courage, funds, and determination of a lot of people around the world. How would the news channels like it, if on the day of their marriage we give them the news that they have been fired or someone close to them is dead? Would anyone like it? NO! So even though there are issues involved, they should behave humanly and congratulate Dubai over achieving such a big feat. To conclude, it is very easy to sit back and criticize, but very hard to be there and perform.

Two major malls in Dubai are the Deira City Center and the Mall of the Emirates. One is located in the busy district of Deira and the other one is located on Sheikh Zayed Road. Important news for the frequent visitors to the mall! It is getting paid parking machines setup! I am assuming no blog or newspaper has reported this as yet, but most of the people would have noticed the machines but I thought I would announce officially. The machines are inactive currently but I feel they will be activated once the Dubai Metro starts. Now the main topic of argument, is it a good decision or a bad one?
Good One: Around both the areas, a Dubai Metro station will be built up! And if the station is around the area, people will use the parking of the Malls to park their cars and then access the metro. Moreover, both the malls exists in areas where people work, that is Deira is the main business district and around it many offices exist and the parking is a major problem along with traffic. Similarly, next to Mall of the Emirates, there is Media City, Internet City, Knowledge Village, Dubai Marina, Emirates Hills, Springs, Meadows, etc, and people from there who want to commute within the city, can park their car to the nearest station which is Mall of the Emirates and take the Metro. This way, both the malls will have 95% of the parked cars of people who are commuting using Dubai Metro. So in order to avoid this they can keep paid parking as they already are. But this will disturb the genuine mall visitors as they don’t know if they will purchase anything or have come to do some window shopping and are potential future customers. Therefore, the best solution is to keep the first 2 hours free, and then charge for parking the car. This way, people who are visiting the mall will be done in 2 hours, or if they take any longer they can get their parking ticket stamped from the place they have visited, or else pay for the next hour onwards. And as well as keep the unwanted cars as when people will commute to different places, they will be away for more than 2 hours. So they might want to do the math and realize that it is wise to stay out of the mall parking’s.
Bad Part: If these malls start charging the customers from the minute they have entered the parking lot. This way, their footfall will reduce dramatically, and people would rarely go to the mall. For example, after my university is over, I don’t mind going to Mall of the Emirates as it is on the way back and purchase the necessary groceries. But since I will go there for the emergency items they would not be really expensive and if there is a minimum limit to purchase in order to get the parking ticket stamped, I would avoid going to the mall. So this will avoid a lot of window shoppers as well, and the main thing is window shoppers are the potential consumers as well because if they see something they like, they might want to purchase it immediately or maybe save up for it and come back. So this will also reduce.

Everyone is excited for the Dubai Metro as it will be one of the major completing projects this year to solve alot of problems in Dubai. After the introduction of Salik, everyone was disappointed because the price was too high. Therefore, expectation for the Dubai Metro usage price was high, it turned out to be pretty nominal. Moreover, there is a unified card system being introduced known as the ‘NOL Card’. This card can be used to pay the fare for Dubai Metro, Bus, and maybe other forms of transport. The cards will be available at the Metro Stations, Vending Machines (quite innovative, but unfortunately not for me, because I had this idea when I was in high school, lol!), Petrol Stations and other stores. The good factor in this is, if you buy a NOL card, you get comparative discount and you can pay cash, but without the discount. This can be convinient for people who prefer using cash always and those who are not frequent users. Also, there is a special discount for students and senior citizens. I would like to make a special note of this, because this is the first time in Dubai a structure like this is introduced according to my knowledge. Normally, everywhere the queue was divided by males and females, and even priviliges but this is the first time, a seperate category is introduced which is highly appreciable. The fares are explained below in detail:

Wow, these days when you will drive past any road, you will see more number of radars than the number of trees. lol! In a way, I feel it is safe to have Radar Cameras, as it imposes strict rules on road. But having too many can cause problems as people might drive in a weird manner. For example, where the speed limit is 70 km/h, people might drive between 40-60 km/h because they want to be in the safe zone. But there are other drivers who are confident to drive at 60-75 km/h, and would like to go a little faster. This can cause havoc and delay others. Moreover, I have personally met up with an accident due to a Radar Camera on the signal. The lights were green, and I was cruising at the speed of 70 km/h. But as I approached the signal, the green light started blinking, which means that the signal is going to turn red. There was a sudden brake by the car in the front, and there were only two possibilities. Either I could stop in the middle of the signal and get the radar, or try my luck and speed a bit, and escape the radar. For no reason, the car in front of me escaped the radar zone and stopped in the front whereas the traffic jam was 300 meters ahead. And to escape getting fine of AED 1000 and car impounding of 1 month, I sped my car. And to my surprise, I crashed into the car in front of me, as well as I got Radar because the car just stopped out of the Radar Zone which leaves me still into the Radar Zone. So I got a red slip for my accident, and got a Radar fine.
The reason why I am sharing this story is because of the article published in Gulf News. According to the article, new cameras have been installed on the roads of Dubai, and according to the study and experience of the officers in Dubai Police, it will solve a lot of problems by installing a radar camera on every pedestrian crossing. The ‘study’ mentioned in the article has no source, and moreover, the educational background of all the officers is never mentioned by any newspaper. Even though the experience matters, but every human who has aged properly has experience and can point out different things about Dubai Roads. Therefore, to have transparency, the study should be mentioned, and moreover, just the experience should not help make decisions. It is very important to understand the situation, the surroundings, have interviews with the pedestrians as well as the drivers and then decide accordingly. This way, people might consider it like a viscous circle. I can explain it how. Initially there were between 4-6 radars on Sheikh Zayed Road (Correct me if I am mistaken). Those radars were well earning because people used to get flashed regularly. The money generated from those radars helped in the purchase of more radars, and therefore the number of radars on Dubai roads increased. Now, as I have mentioned there are more radars than trees in Dubai, it shows that the Radars are generating a lot of revenue for the Dubai Police. Doesn’t this model remind you of a general Business Money Making Model? So, this is the reason why I would like to request the Dubai Police to understand that it is not good for the image of Dubai in general, and no ways it will increase safety on the road because no matter the number of Radars have increased, the violators and violations have increased too.

With such amazing properties coming up in Dubai, people who can afford it would like to buy one home to live in. It is a tax free haven, with all the luxuries from around the world like world renowned spas, restaurants, hotels, cars, etc. Comparing to the life of their home countries, expats feel that Dubai is a dream city which provides everything one can ask for. But to live in Dubai, you require a visa. There are different forms of visa one can obtain, but people having their private business out of Dubai, will have to apply for visit visa in order to come and stay here, or else start a business here or obtain a working permit visa. But they could buy a property and obtain visa easily. Around the world, if you buy a house in the respective country, you are entitled for a visa easily. But the period of stay is differentiating depending on different countries and cities. In Dubai, the period of stay allowed is six months with multiple entries. I am going to provide my view point on this issue. The article can be accessed here.
The rule will be implemented from June 1, and a few important points to be noticed are:
1) The investor must have a monthly income of AED 10,000 ($2,750) and above in any form of currency equivalent to that amount.
2) The home purchased by the investor must be big enough to accommodate all family members, and should be in appropriate living conditions, that are ready to move in.
3) The value of the home purchased should be AED 1,000,000 ($275,000) and above in order to apply for the visa.
4) The property must be wholly owned by the investor.

Planning to call a taxi to move very short distance? You might want to change your mind and walk it up! The minimum fare of the taxi is now AED 10. This rule is implied from today according to the article in Gulf News. Even though the taxi meter might show AED 6, but the passenger has to pay AED 10, because the new rule states that. The reason is that Taxi drivers are complaning that they have to take passengers for short trips and they get stuck in traffic. And because of this they dont accept passengers for short trips. So, the best way to solve this according to Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is to keep the minimum taxi fare as AED 10. During a time like this, where economy is actually sinking faster than Titanic, the RTA is increasing costs of the facilities introduced faster than the sinking. Moreover, the present facilities like busses, etc are not that great because they are never on time, and dont go to every route. Therefore, was any research done before implementing a rule like this is still unknown! Moreover, as the summers are approaching, the climate will not be supportive with walking up short distances. So with a situation like this, isnt it mean to introduce a rule like this one, just for the welfare of the taxi drivers? What I mean to say is, they drive their taxi’s insanely, abuse every rule of RTA, abuse the people on the road and practically cause all the accidents on the road, cause a mayhem in the city with the way they drive, and have an attitude of a gangster. With such wrong way of behavior, the RTA (government body) is supporting them in every possible way, it will give them more reasons to actually behave worst. I think if the RTA is imposing rules in benefit to the Taxi Drivers, they should even be strict with them by telling them to behave well with the people in the city. It is not the problem of the people that they take up the job of being a Taxi driver. It is the individual’s decision, and he is responsible for accepting the job. It is the same in every industry, and taxi drivers are nobody different. And they should accept this and live with the fact that they are ‘DRIVERS’ and behave like them.

Today’s paper highlighted two new rules introduced by RTA. One rule is specific for Abu Dhabi, and the other one I am guessing is for all the Emirates.
The rule for Abu Dhabi is that motorists will be fined AED 500 for minor accidents caused. This rule will start from April 15, and claims it would make the drivers more cautious and attentive when they are driving as it will make them AED 500 poorer. But how far will this be true? Moreover, the AED 500 is not a fine claimed by the police, but it is the service charge of Saaed, a company outsourced by the police to handle minor accidents. According to www.dictionary.com, the definition of accident is “an undesirable or unfortunate happening that occurs unintentionally and usually results in harm, injury, damage, or loss; casualty; mishap: automobile accidents.”. It clearly states that it is unintentional and undesirable, then it doesnot make sense to fine people AED 500. If even it is considered as a service fee, AED 500 is too expensive for any service. Even visa is cheaper than that. With a law being so inconsiderate towards people, it is not good for the government as it will show that the government is not thinking about its residents.
Link to the article.
The second rule is that the Salik and the Speeding radars will detect any unregistered car and will fine them immediately. This is good for the RTA as people should register their cars. Why do I agree more with this rule? Because, if you register your car, you can insure it. And if any accident is caused, you will have to pay AED 500 according to the new rule mentioned above, but would not have to pay for the damages. But if you do not insure and register your car, you will have to pay a fine, pay for the damages of your car and the car you have collided with. SO, this way, it is for the betterment of the people to register their car.
Link to the article.

I was reading an interesting article in the newspaper. If you click on the link you will be able to read that a person from South India is stranded in Dubai because his child cannot have a passport. After reading my blog you will feel I have some negativity towards South Indians, but this article will prove that it is nothing against them, and its only their behavior which disturbs me. So related to this article, this person, his name is Nazimudeen and his wife’s name is Reenamol delivered a son in 1997 and maybe it slipped out of his mind to get a passport for his son. I agree it is his stupidity that he forgot to register something so important like the passport, but now according to the Indian consulate, if a child has completed 1 year without registration of passport, then the child cannot get a passport if he is not in the country and especially in New Delhi. And as well as the Passport Consul said that if they send a request to New Delhi, it could take a year or so. So for a year, the poor guy has to keep visiting the consulate and also worry about the Global Crisis affecting his living. Moreover, the Indian Consulate doesn’t even care and refused to do anything for him. So in a tough period like this, if the Indian Consulate leaves the citizens of its country isolated, then what is the use of it being established here? All the people in the consulate are ineffective and have no courtesy for their citizens. Maybe this is why the Britishers and Americans feel strong, because their country and Consulates care for their citizens and will do anything to solve their problem. This is the same case in India, no one cares, and all their bothered about is themselves, and how much bribe can they get. When will people in India kick these old hags who hold big positions out? If the Indian Consulate in Dubai cannot do anything for Nazimudeen or any other Indian here, and only care about themselves, and their parties, and their alcohol and their life, then they should just go back to India and rot over there. Anytime of the day, if we goto the Indian Consulate, they are lazy hags, who have so much attitude and dont want to work at all. If they dont want to work, they can go home and sit. No one is forcing them to work. This should follow for everyone who is working. If they cannot provide good service, they should not work. No one is forcing them to work.
I am not sure if this article will be able to do wonders for Nazimudeen, but atleast I am trying to make an effort. If each one of us tries to make an effort, the 100 billion population of India can get rid of these old hags and bring back the fame and glory which India deserves!

This may sound as great news to everyone reading. But as they say not everything is as it seems, and this is one of those instances. This news is only meant for the Emiratis. Because of the Global Crisis, nearly every firm not only in Dubai but also around the world is firing people. Dubai in this aspect has taken a bold step to stop that in it’s own region, atleast. But then the question arises that 1.88 million expats living in Dubai, so why this special consideration for the Emiratis alone? Unfortunately, this question has been left unanswered for as long as one can remember and sadly enough maybe it will never be answered. Every expat living in Dubai wants to know the answer to this question. Perhaps they are not in the position to question the authority, but that does not deter from the fact that they must wonder as to why they are deprived of certain privileges whereas they too have had a hand in the development of Dubai. Due to this law coming into action, there would be a decrease in the attendance of Emiratis showing up for work. Even though it is mentioned that in light of they violating the Labor Laws they can be fired, who knows how long it will take to change those too.
Moreover, it is mentioned that if an Emirati is fired and an expat is hired in his position, it would have detrimental consequences for the company in question. Salary of an expat from Far East would cost AED 1000-2500 and from Asian Subcontinent would cost 2000-4000. Maybe due to crisis, from America or England would cost AED 6000-10000. But the Emirati minimum salary requirements are AED 12000+. The productivity is another issue but I cannot judge that, so will not make a comment on that. I know for a fact that all of you reading this article would only have one thought as to why is this article only focusing on the negativity of this decision. So why do I insist on focusing on the negative. It is because if Emiratis cannot be fired, they would not be hired either. It is not rocket science to do 2+2. In addition, if Americans can be fired in America, Japanese can be fired in Japan, Dubai should act no different if it wants to stay on top of the world, the way it is.